


Into the Woods

by amityadmirer



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, Blushing Amity Blight, Boscha is a bitch, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, F/F, Fluff, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, Human AU, If you leave a comment I’ll give you a kiss, Kinda, Kissing, Musical Theatre AU, amity pov, eventual makeout, luz has a crush, medium-rare burn, when is she not tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26252545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amityadmirer/pseuds/amityadmirer
Summary: Blooming Isles is putting on their yearly musical, Into the Woods, and Amity Blight is stage managing. Having to juggle being the only junior stage manager, her parents high expectation, and sudden new flirting from none other than Luz Noceda, she doesn’t know what to do! Will the show go on, or will the stress of it all become to much?(A fic in which Luz has an obvious crush and Amity is just an idiot)Spanish translationHere
Relationships: Amity Blight & King, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & King, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Luz Noceda & Willow Park & Gus Porter
Comments: 202
Kudos: 488





	1. 1st Rehearsal

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry it took so long!!! Last night I stole a blue lives matter flag from a racist, so I was preoccupied! Anyhow this is going to be a longer fic, and finally my years in theatre have a use, enjoy!!!

I was late. It was my first show as an actual stage manager, the only junior to ever be a stage manager at the high school, and I was late to rehearsal. I was going to literally die.

Technically I didn’t really have to come into the rehearsal right before tech Saturday, but I was afraid that I would miss something if I didn’t see at least one performance before tech crew got here and this would all become serious. Still, I was prepared. I had seen the show, Into the Woods, about five times in the past month, and I already read through the whole script almost three times. Nothing was going to ruin this week for me, not even being late.

Luckily, as I walked down to the front of the theatre where the director was already working with kids, I wasn’t noticed, and I dropped down in my seat next to the music director, Lilith, without a word. Lilith was one of the stricter teachers at Blooming Isles High, but she had a soft spot for preforming, and I respected that about her. I loved her darker aesthetic, it reminded me of a grown-up goth girl, and it was hard to believe that she and the director, Eda, were sisters. They were so different.

Taking my things out of my bag, I began to calm down. No one was going to care that I was a few minutes later than when I said I would be there. I needed to stop overthinking like this, it only ended up making me feel shittier than I needed to.

I turned my attention to the kids on stage, all people I had been going to school for years with and was in amazement. Not like I was in awe of their talent or anything, but because they had to put up with Mrs. Clawthorne, or Eda, their director for the entire production of the show. Most of them were up there looking either like they wanted to die, or like they had never been happier to be at school, and it was easy to tell who an older performer was or not.

I loved Eda, but she was a bit much. I had heard stories from her days in high school and how much of a rebel she was, which made it weird to actually sit down in her English class and have her expect attention from me. She was one of the eccentric high school English teachers who had a taste for drama and over-reacting, and I couldn’t really imagine trying to work with her for 3 hour practices almost every day for a month.

“Oh Amity!” Eda exclaimed, finally turning around and seeing me, “You made it! I was starting to get worried that you got lost!”

I refrained from rolling my eyes. Of course I knew where the theatre was, I had been going to this school for the past 3 years, but I didn’t want to get on anyone’s bad side on my first day. “Yeah, no I just got dropped off late, sorry!”

She didn’t even acknowledge my statement, turning back to her students and yelling at one of them about how they weren’t on stage until the next scene. When she did turn back, she flashed me a smile I suspected she was forcing, “Amity, we are going to be doing our best to get through one run of the show this afternoon, and I will sit next to you and do my best to point out notes along with your script.”

“Sure.”

“And then if you could stay behind for light programing, I think King gets here around 6:30 for our Cue to Cue. You have his number, right? Anyway I think he's ordering Chinese to bring, so you can place your order. Alright, cool, cool. I’ll be over in a minute.” she had already turned around before I could reply, so I just settled back into my seat and started to look back at the kids on stage.

After a minute of nothing happening, I took out my phone and sent a quick text to King, the technical producer for the show. He was like the weird uncle to all of tech crew, and in my freshman year, one of the only teachers I would trust.

I remember in my first year I didn’t have many friends and he had invited me down to where all of the tech crew kids would come down to the auditorium and work on set building during lunch and after school. It was the first place I felt like I really belonged in high school, and I had him to thank for that. King was the one who had advocated for me being the stage manager for this show even though I was only a junior, and I loved him for it.

King 😈🤴🤡

 **Me: Can you pick up some Kung Pao Chicken for me?** **😁**

**King: ugh fine. You owe me 30 bucks tho**

**Me: I refuse, make it free**

**King: 12 bucks**

**Me: 0.00 bucks**

**King:** **🙄**

**King: you drive a hard bargain Ms. Stage Manager, for you itll be free.**

**Me:** **😁**

**King: one order of Kung Pao Chicken got it**

I smiled into my phone, then turned it off. What I loved the most about King was that even though he was an adult, he was more of a kid than even me. It was like he never got over being a teenager and chose the one job where he could be one forever.

I was too busy taking texting King that I didn’t notice someone staring at me on stage for a moment or two. When I looked back up, she immediately caught my eye and she gave me a sly wink. Luz Noceda. The Witch.

Luz and I had been enemies for almost all of our high school experience. She transferred in freshmen year, and we just clashed on ever front. There wasn’t anything specific, but I remember that in that first year we just decided that we would be enemies, and that would be that. Everyone knew about it, and it turned into an inside joke after a while.

It wasn’t until spring of our first year in school together that I learned that she was a theatre kid also. While she tended to rule the stage, I was better off in the shadows. Over the years our aggression towards each other had slowly diminished, and last year she even invited me to the cast party after the show. We didn’t have many classes together, but all the sudden I was seeing her everywhere, and it was different than before. Somewhere along the line my anger decided to change, and now instead of fuming when I saw her, I began to feel electric. I knew I couldn’t be the only one feeling this way because now instead of arguing with me when she saw me in the hallways, Luz was flirting with me.

At first, I didn’t really notice it or understand, but earlier that year, she had just started randomly complimenting me. She had even gotten my number from someone and occasionally sent me tiktoks of pretty girls and stupid flirts. Luz was one of the most popular kids in school, mostly because she was so peppy and could be friends with anyone, and I was baffled at her paying sudden positive attention towards me. The fighting was fun when it happened, but the flirting was just in a different ballpark. Even though she had been doing it all year, I still always blushed.

Not that I liked it or anything, but I couldn’t help it. She was still pretty, stunning brown eyes and stupid floozy hair, whether we had a feud or not.

On cue, I blushed bright red, and she smiled. Not knowing how to respond, I pulled open my script and buried myself in it. There was no way I was going to let someone as stupid and idiot as Luz Noceda mess with my first show as an SM.

But what I didn’t notice while my face was buried in my work was that Luz’s eyes didn’t leave my spot in the audience, and that, when I blushed, she blushed too.

…………………………….

After rehearsal had finally ended, I was exhausted. I had an English paper due on Monday, no food in my stomach, and Luz hadn’t stopped catching my eye the entirety of rehearsal. Between the lack of food and the constant butterflies, I was staring to get nauseous.

I watched her as she finally got off of the stage and started packing up her things. She caught my eye when she had put all of her stuff away, and I thought that for a moment she was about to walk over and say hi, but instead she turned to her friend Willow and Gus, our Red riding hood and Bakers Husband for the show, and slowly left the auditorium.

I tried not to be disappointed, and silently scolded my heart for getting so fluttery all the sudden. To distract myself, I let my eyes flicker back to my notes. So far I only had a few about placement and needing help with certain quick-changes, and I was beginning to feel a little more confident about the whole tech Saturday thing.

All the sudden I heard footsteps from behind me.

“Guess who has your food!” King asked in a sing-song voice as he walked down to the stage, surprising me.

I jumped up immediately, perking up with even the mention of my food, and ran up to greet him. “Oh my god King, you're amazing!” I exclaimed, grabbing the Styrofoam container from his hands. “I literally needed this more than anything.”

He rolled his eyes and passed me some chopsticks as I eagerly opened my steaming hot container and sighed in bliss. “You're a weird kid.” King said, sitting down next to where I had put all of my stuff. “I like it.”

He pulled out his own food, and we both ate in silence for a moment as the last remaining kids filtered off the stage. Eda was off talking to Lilith about some minor element in the show, and I didn’t care enough to listen to what they were saying. In that moment the only thing that mattered was my food.

I emptied my container of chicken in less than three minutes, then let out the biggest burp. King applauded me, and I smiled. I loved him.

“Oh King!” Eda exclaimed, finally noticing the two of us where we were sitting in the house, a little ways away from the stage. “You're here.”

She excused the remaining kids and walked up towards us. “Hey Eda.” King said to the director, and she smiled. King and Eda were weirdly enough, best friends. Their personalities were very different, but both insanely chaotic which is why I suppose they got along so well. Regardless, I couldn’t help but love their dynamic.

“Ready for the cue to cue?” she asked, picking a piece of chicken from his container.

He flashed her an annoyed look, but I could tell he didn’t really care. “Yeah, just a moment.” He finished the last few noodles in his dish and rubbed his hands on a stray napkin. Feeling satisfied, we both stood and walked to the back of the house, to the tech booth, and sat next to the light board.

I had operated the light board for one of the shows before, but I didn’t know how to program it. That was why King was here, he programed all of our shows, and had even gone to school for it. I had heard rumors that he worked on Broadway when he was younger, but that he decided to come here to teach kids about tech instead. I liked thinking that he had a mysterious backstory I hadn’t unlocked yet. Anyhow I still had to write the light cues into my script to call later in the actual show, and it always took 2 in a cue to cue.

“Ready kid?” he asked, giving me a look as I opened my script to page 1.

“Yup!”

“Eda?”

Eda had pulled out her own director’s script and put her readers on her face. “Yeah, I'm ready.”

“Alright, cue 1: preshow…”

And we begun to program the show.


	2. Tech Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This time she wasn’t wearing a flirtatious look, but rather like she had been caught off guard and actually listening to me. When she saw that I had seen her, she gave me a shy smile and waved. I held up my hand in response and she turned away before I could get a look at her face. I didn’t know if it was just the distance or something else, but I swear that she was blushing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am having so much fun with this fic!!! Anyway here’s chapter 2...

“Alright wonderful theatre children!” King called out to the techies who had congregated in the hallway outside of the theatre excitedly, “Welcome to Tech Saturday!” The rest of the kids who had been having conversations quickly quieted and gathered in a circle around King who was holding out his coffee like it he was afraid one of us would take it. “I will get to announcements, but for now, Amity!” he held out his open hand dramatically, and I stepped forward.

“Hello!” I said, feeling nervous all the sudden, “I am Amity, which most of you know, and I will be your stage manger for this show. I know that you are all very excited to be doing this production since most of you have been working with King to build the set, and I just want to say that yes, this will be fun, but we are going to have to be serious sometimes. Especially today.”

Everyone nodded their head, and King added in something of his own.

“Yes, I agree 100% with that, but this is still a fun zone. This show will have its moments, but I am here for the messing around, and I will even endorse it.” He gave them all a wink and I shook my head. He really was just a child.

“Alright then, before King can corrupt the new kids, lets do some introductions. I know most of you, but there are some new faces I see, and I want to make sure that everyone has at least one friend before we start the show! How about we all go around and give our name, our grade, and our favorite show. For me my favorite is Wicked.”

Everyone nodded and started to talk amongst themselves, the older crew kids making sure to welcome the new ones and share fun facts. It seemed like almost yesterday that I was in their same spot, not really knowing anyone, and wishing that I did. Back then the stage manager had spoken a similar speech, and I felt more welcome immediately.

I was about to join right into the introductions when a familiar purple hoodie flashed into view, and I looked up to see Luz again, staring at me like before.

This time she wasn’t wearing a flirtatious look, but rather like she had been caught off guard and actually listening to me. When she saw that I had seen her, she gave me a shy smile and waved. I held up my hand in response and she turned away before I could get a look at her face. I didn’t know if it was just the distance or something else, but I swear that she was blushing.

I was totally caught off guard for a moment, but then I shook my head and turned back to the group who had all but finished their introductions to each other. Although I was sad to have missed most of it, there was still work to do

“Amazing introductions guys, but we have to split into our groups before we run out of time. Our hope is to run through at least act one with tech today, so we have to hustle.” King announced, and I nodded my head in agreement.

“Right, groups,” I pulled out my sheet of paper where I had already given everyone roles and started calling out names. But my attention wasn’t fully in it, and I felt my mind wandering back to Luz. My mind had been wandering back to Luz a whole lot lately, and I no longer knew what to think.

I wanted with my whole heart that she wasn’t just messing with me, and that she actually was flirting with me to flirt with me, but it just wasn’t realistic. I couldn’t believe that she actually cared about me, and if I let myself, I feared I would never get out of that rabbit hole. It would be so easy to fall for Luz Noceda which is why I absolutely never could.

…………………………

“And then the wedding happens, and the stepsister’s eyes are pecked out by the birds that helped Cinderella in the beginning of the show.” Eda finished, having spent the last 15 minutes talking to tech crew which had inevitably turned into her explaining the plot of the entire show.

I had tried to tune the whole thing out as I looked at my notes and ran through the act in my head, but it was difficult with Eda’s distinct voice echoing around the theatre.

The kids around Eda all recoiled in disgust, most of them having forgotten the gory aspects of this show, and I smiled. Nothing like the Grimm fairytales, and it didn’t help that Eda was such a great storyteller. “Any questions?” Eda asked, and the group all shook their heads. No one wanted to hear anymore of that.

“Alright!” I interrupted, walking over to the group, “If we want to start act 1 and finish in time, then we need everyone backstage. The headsets are all in the stage right hallway, and Tiny, my ASM, can help anyone who doesn’t understand what’s going on.” I gave them all what I hoped was a comforting smile.

“Awesome!” Tiny said, ushering the tech babies to follow her backstage while Kiki stayed back with Viney and me.

Kiki was a senior and our resident sound designer, and Viney was in my grade, working on learning lights. For this show he was just board operator, but I'm sure he knew much more about it than any of the other kids.

All three of us made our way to the back of the theatre and into the tech booth. I remember back in freshman and sophomore year I wasn’t allowed back there, upperclassmen only, and I still felt a rush of adrenaline when I stepped inside. It was nice to be part of something special like this, and it felt even better to know that I was the boss. I grabbed my headset and set out to call 5 till places, finally feeling like a real stage manager.

“Five to places.” I said over the headset and listened to the chorus of _thank you 5’s_ that followed. Then, hooking the radio to my belt, headed down to the front of the stage to tell the rest of the adults.

“Five to places!” I called to where Eda, Lilith, and King were all sitting.

“Thanks 5!” they called back, and I felt my cheeks warm. I was finally in charge. I was a real-life fucking stage manager, and I was going to tech a high school show as a junior. This was beyond insane.

The rest of my rounds were easy to do as I walked between dressing rooms calling in to announce the soon start to the show. I knew that I just as easily could have had my ASM call the time, but I wanted to have some little bit of power, and the feeling was refreshing. The moment was beautifully undisturbed until I rounded the corner into the stage right hallway and collided with someone.

“Hey!” I yelled in anger and surprise before I realized who it was. Luz.

She was wearing her witch dress thing, but not the hair that made her unrecognizable. Her makeup was all done dramatically with a lot of purple, and she looked surprised and a little anxious. Suddenly my breath caught in my throat and I was filled with feelings of anxiety and butterflies. As much as I wanted to curse my body out for acting this way, I couldn’t really move, and we both attempted at collecting ourselves.

“Oh, hey, didn’t see you there.” She said, surprise quickly turning to flirtation. “Which is unusual since I normally can't keep my eyes off of you.” She winked and I felt my face involuntarily go red.

“Thanks Luz,” I replied with my eyes downcast so she couldn’t see my burning cheeks, but I was sure she had.

“Anytime.” She replied with finger guns, and I refrained from rolling my eyes.

For a moment neither of us moved, and I couldn’t help but look up at her face. I thought back to all of the times we had argued in the hallways for no reason, or when just the sight of her made me go rigid with anger. For whatever reason I couldn’t really remember why I hated her so much. Sure, it was Luz, and I knew that she didn’t mean any of the flirting, but part of me was obsessed with the attention, not that I’d ever admit it out loud. Her soft brown eyes had been glittering when she saw me of late, and I just wanted to get lost in them. I wanted to sweep in and close the distance between us and…

There was no way I was doing that right now. There was no way. I was not just thinking about kissing Luz, no, no, nope!

My face resembled a tomato.

“Well then, I’ll be off…” I finally said, mortified as if she could read my thoughts or something, and she gave me a small smile, stepping to the side.

“See you Amity.”

And I hated to admit it, but when she said my name it sent a jolt of electricity down my body. And even further what I hated to admit, was that I was starting to care. And I was starting to fall a little bit further for Luz. Slowly making my way to the edge of the rabbit hole.


	3. Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “…well I don't know, it's hard to tell if she likes me back.”
> 
> I couldn’t move. Was Luz talking about the girl she liked? I tried to tell my heart to stop being so fluttery and quickly hid behind the wall again, trying to stead myself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I turned on the sound for when I type on my phone keyboard and I’m in love!! It sounds so satisfying!!! Anyway this is a short chapter because I had another half of it I didn’t want to edit yet💔 lmao but there’s more coming!!!

Monday:

Luz 🤢🤮😈

**2:37 a.m.**

**Luz:** [ **https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJBTePPj/** ](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJBTePPj/)

**Me: (loved a message)**

**Me: why are you up at 2 am**

**Luz: why are you up at 2 am**

**Me: don’t turn that back around to me**

**Luz: i do what i want** **😏**

**Me: apparently**

**Luz: what are you doing for the show again?**

**Me: i’m the stage manager**

**Luz: wait that’s so cool, you’re a junior too**

**Me: yeah i’m actually so excited about the whole thing**

**Luz: i would be too!!**

**Me: wdym you’re like the lead!!!**

**Luz: hey i’m just the witch!!**

**Me: okay, so then i’m just a stage manager, what’s your point**

**Luz:** **🙄**

**Me:** **😌**

**Luz: what have you been doing besides the show**

**Me: um mostly just working on art yk**

**Luz: oh that’s cool! show me sometime**

**Me: i will** **🙈**

**Luz: amazing**

**Me: i’ll show you on monday or something, but do want to go to bed**

**Me: gn**

**Luz: loser**

**Luz: goodnight amity, sweet dreams**

………………..

“Mother, have you seen my script!?” I voice interrupted my sleep, and I woke up unhappily. Taking one look at the clock I saw that it was already 8:15 and I was going to be late to school if I didn’t get up.

“I think it’s in the kitchen!” another voice I now recognized to be Emira called, and I rubbed my eyes. It was hard enough being the stage manager for a high school show, but even harder when your siblings were in the cast.

Edric and Emira had always been crazy good at whatever they chose to put their energy into, and in this case, theatre. Emira always got a lead, even as a freshman, and her senior show was no exemption. Emira, the Bakers Wife, and Edric, Jack from jack and the beanstalk, were basically the stars of the show, and they knew how to rub it in everyone’s faces. But finally this year I could compete with their obnoxiousness since, as stage manager, and I had power over them.

I dragged myself out of bed and threw on the closest black pieces of clothing I had near me. Although I was no longer on crew and had to wear blacks, I still liked wearing them during tech week. While the cast all had their spirit days, I just had my ‘technical’ uniform, and it didn’t help that black was one of my favorite colors anyway.

“Amity!” a voice from downstairs screeched, and I grabbed my things from next to my door and made my way down the stairs.

My dad had already gone off to work, so it was just my mom and the twins in the house. I threw my bag towards the door and walked into the kitchen where my mother was waiting with a cup of coffee and one of those obnoxious bathrobes that looked like a ballgown for the morning. She was sipping her drink and reading a magazine with a disinterested look on her face, and she did a double take when she saw me.

“Oh, Amity, you're here.”

“Yeah, just got up.”

“I can tell…” She flipped a page, “So the show, how is it going?”

I was caught off guard. Usually my parents disproved of me working in tech crew because I wasn’t seen and therefore didn’t get any recognition. Recognition was big for them.

“Um, it's going really good I guess.”

“Hmm, yeah, well you know how important it is for us that you do well with this. You are the youngest student to be a stage manager at the high school, and that means a lot to us. We just wanted to make sure you were doing okay?”

She didn’t sound concerned at all, and I couldn’t help but become irritated. They never cared about the things I wanted to do until those things became important. If I had been just any other member of crew for this show, they would have tried to talk me out of it like they usually did.

“Um, it's going great, thanks.” I tried to keep my voice neutral, but a tad of annoyance slid in there and she gave me a side eye.

“That’s all.”

“Um alright.” I said, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.

The twins were waiting in the foyer, and I gave them both sympathetic looks for waiting. Sometimes they would make me run up to the car while it was already rolling just because they wanted to.

It seemed that they understood what had happened in the kitchen, and gratefully, didn’t talk about it. I guess that our parents had similar expectations for us all, and that maybe they did understand where I was coming from.

The ride to school gave me a headache as the twins blasted showtunes and sang along at top volume. Even though we were already late, we all stopped for coffee and donuts, and arrived at school about 15 minutes into 1st period.

I usually didn’t care about being late until I was at school and having to walk into a classroom being the only one doing so, late, made my stomach turn, and I realized just how much anxiety I really had.

Rushing though the hallways with the pass Edric had forged, I was feeling horrible. It was no longer the being late that was freaking me out, but the forged pass, and the fact that the class I was missing was English, and I had my paper due that morning.

I was so obsessed with my being late that I barely recognized the voice in the other hallway until it was almost too late. Right before I turned the corner Luz’s voice hit me, and I froze. She was talking about someone.

Peeking my head just slightly around the corner I got a good look at the trio sitting there. It was Luz, Gus, and Willow, all wearing whatever the spirit day dress code was, which I think was supposed to be 80’s themed. And looking away from my spot.

“…well I don't know, it's hard to tell if she likes me back.”

I couldn’t move. Was Luz talking about the girl she liked? I tried to tell my heart to stop being so fluttery and quickly hid behind the wall again, trying to stead myself.

“We don't have any classes together, but I do get to see her at rehearsal. I think I'm going to invite her out to the cast party again this year, but I don't know. She's difficult.”

“I mean what’s the worst that can happen?’

“She says she’ll come and then dip like last year. I mean I know she didn’t like me, but at least she could have told me why she didn’t come.”

“Oh, yeah, that sucks Luz.”

Suddenly I snapped out of it. Sure, she had invited me last year, but I never told her I was going, and I certainly never stood her up. There was no way she was talking about me. It had to be someone else at the show that she was into, not me, but I still couldn’t help my heart from sinking in my chest. I didn’t realize how much I wanted it to be me until I was disappointed, and now I felt like shit. It wasn’t me. Luz would never be into me, and I shouldn’t care about that. It couldn’t be me, and I shouldn’t be excited that it might be. This was not how my junior year was supposed to go. Not at all.

Carefully, before something bad could happen and she found out I was eavesdropping, I turned on my heel and walked back the other way. I was _not_ going to go through that hallway, even if it meant skipping English. I wouldn’t face Luz.


	4. Tuesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Can you and Willow just head somewhere away from here for a moment?” I asked, leaning in so that only she could hear me. For a moment she went red, but just as quickly as I had seen it, she returned to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me deciding to edit the chapter and then posting a mere 1000 words🙈  
> I know I’m horrible, but you love me🙃

Tuesday:

Luz 🤢🤮😈

9:17 p.m.

**Luz: nice rehearsal today…**

**Me: um, yeah it was**

**Luz: so what are you doing after the show on friday**

**Me: probably going out with the crew and eating a ton of cheesy fries**

**Luz: oh, that sounds like fun**

**Me: what were your plans?**

**Luz: cast party and whatever**

**Me: that sounds like fun**

**Luz: it would be more fun if you came** **😏**

**Me: yeah right** **🙄**

**Luz: you make everything more fun**

**Me: since when have i ever made anything more fun by being there**

**Luz: every day at school**

**Me: sure**

**Luz: no really, you just brighten my day by being there**

**Me: don't patronize me**

**Luz: i’m not!!!**

**Me: whatever**

**Luz: babe, amity, i swear on the river Styx that you really make my day**

**Me: you nerd, I got that Percy Jackson reference**

**Luz: you read Percy Jackson!?!**

**Me: duh, who didn’t?**

**Luz: well then, it's safe to assume that you're gay now** **😌✌**

**Me: wait what? what does that have to do with it?**

**Luz: it's just a rule of the universe, you read Percy Jackson as a kid, you're gay now**

**Me: i love that yeah, um, checks out i guess**

**Luz: girl in red or sweater weather?**

**Me: girl in red**

**Luz: good to know**

**Me: really? you gonna tell my parents or something**

**Luz: god no, i am terrified of your parents. i’ve seen them at shows before and nope**

**Me: what, got a grudge against my parents or something?**

**Luz: no!**

**Me: i was just teasing**

**Luz:** **😳**

……………………………………

Tuesday’s rehearsal seemed to drag on forever. It was our first official day with sound and lights, and most of it was a disaster. Sure, the saying is that bad tech week, great shows, but I didn’t want it to be that way. I wanted it to be perfect every single time, but that wasn’t happening, and I was starting to get stressed.

“OHMYGOD!” someone screamed from backstage, and I face palmed. Not something new.

“ _Hey Amity?_ ” Tiny asked over the headset, and I took a deep breath to collect myself.

“ _Yes tiny, what happened?_ ” I asked.

“ _Boscha um…there was an accident backstage and Boscha and Willow collided. Wanna come back here?_ ”

I groaned. We had only gotten through the first few scenes, and I was already being interrupted.

“Alright hold!” I yelled out to the auditorium, and the actors on the stage froze and began talking amongst themselves. King gave me a look from the audience, and I gestured to backstage. He nodded and I made my way to the back of the theatre.

When I got there, it was a mess. Boscha was standing in her full Cinderella costume with a giant water stain down the front, looking furious and uncomfortable. Willow was holding her open water bottle in horror, staring at Boscha like she was about to kill her at any moment. Luz was standing in front of her and seemed to be talking to Boscha about the misunderstanding, but it wasn’t working, and Boscha only got madder.

“The little dipshit should have seen where she was going!” Boscha yelled into Luz’s face, and she took a step back.

“Come on Boscha, you're being unfair. Willow didn’t mean to pour water on you, you bumped into her!” these were the wrong words because Boscha immediately began to boil red with anger. If it were possible, she would have had smoke pouring from her ears.

“Alright ladies!” I said, jumping between the two parties before anything bad could happen, “What seems to be the problem?”

Tiny walked up to me from behind and gave me a grateful look, “Boscha and Willow—” she began, but Boscha interjected.

“Willow poured water down my dress!” she pouted, looking at me like I would somehow magically make her problems disappear. “She needs to be held accountable.”

I shook my head in exhaustion, “Boscha, I'm sure Willow didn’t mean it? Did you?” I asked her.

Willow looked as if she wanted to shrink into the floor when I brought her up, and I felt a tinge of empathy. I didn’t want to be on Boscha’s bad side either.

“Um, no,” she began in a quiet voice, “We didn’t see each other, and my water bottle was open. It was a total accident!”

I gave Boscha a look as if to say _see_? But I ignored it.

“She just wanted my part from the beginning, and this is her getting back at me.” Boscha complained, crossing her arms over her chest.

I sighed, “I don't think that’s the issue.”

“It is!” she argued, and I turned to Luz.

“Can you and Willow just head somewhere away from here for a moment?” I asked, leaning in so that only she could hear me. For a moment she went red, but just as quickly as I had seen it, she returned to normal.

“No—no problem Amity!” she grabbed Willow’s hand and started walking to the boys dressing room, likely to find Gus.

For a moment my heart was beating a billion miles an hour, but I tried to ignore it, turning back to Boscha.

“It is just a dress, so how about you go back to the dressing room and change into something that’s not wet until the dress dries. Give it to the costume director and she’ll take care of it for you.”

Boscha looked as though she was going to argue, but eventually rolled her eyes and started back to the dressing room, a certain anger following each step.

“Thanks Amity.” Tiny said to me once she had gone, “She can be scary.”

I sighed, slumping against the wall.

“No shit. I am going to take a minute.” I stayed against the wall for a moment and Tiny gratefully gave me some space.

Finally, after waiting a moment or two, I pushed myself off of the wall and walked back to the tech booth. When I got back, King gave me a look and mouthed “All okay?”

“We’re good.” I mouthed back, giving him a thumbs up. He smiled and tapped Eda on the shoulder.

“Are we ready?” Eda asked me, and I nodded.

“Places!” I called, and the actors on stage found their spots. “Alright let’s do this again!”


	5. Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What seems to be the issue with her?” the main nurse asked Luz.
> 
> Luz looked down at me with a playful expression, “Long night or something.” She said, and I rolled my eyes to the best of my ability.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I went to a children’s museum with my friends (Shannon) and felt alive for the first time in months😌✌️   
> Also I was wearing fishnets and they all kept tickling them like—

Wednesday:

Luz 🤢🤮😈

1:12 a.m.

**Luz: hey what you did today was cool**

**Luz: sticking up for willow like that**

**Me: um, idk it's just my job**

**Luz: but you could have taken Boscha’s side, like you are friends with her and everything**

**Me: i used to be friends with her, but now she's just a bitch**

**Luz: lol, yeah**

**Me: plus willow didn’t deserve her fury**

**Luz: no, she didn’t.**

**Luz: thank you tho, means a lot**

**Me: aww, it was nothing**

**Luz: oh shut up**

**Me: never**

**Luz: i bet i could shut you up**

**Me: really, how?**

**Luz: i won’t get into details but it involves you, me, and wall to push you against**

**Me: uh** **✨** **i’m blushing** **✨**

**Luz: i have other ideas too**

**Me: i—**

**Luz: anyway I have something to ask you tomorrow**

**Me: should i be worried**

**Luz: yes.**

**Me: alright then, can't wait**

**Me: see you tomorrow luz**

**Luz: goodnight idiot**

**Me: goodnight**

**……………………**

I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. Whenever I got close to sleep, suddenly my brain would replay her text messages, and I would get flushed all over my body. At this point the flirting was becoming too much, and I was kind of sick of it. If she meant it, then she should just do something about it.

Or not. Or not because I think if Luz decided to do anything like she had described I would probably faint. Not that I'm proud of that fact, but everyday my feelings were growing, and it didn’t help that she kept talking like that towards me.

When I finally got up in the morning, I was a mess. I had barely gotten any shut eye, and rehearsal was destroying me. With my luck I would pass out in English and get sent to the principal’s office. Or better yet, pass out in gym and hit my head on something.

My theories weren’t far from the truth when in bio I ended up passing out during a class video and my teacher sent me down to the nurse’s office to take a break.

I walked down the hallways in a haze. I had pulled all-nighters before, but this was just a whole different level. By the time I made my way down to the nurse’s office, I was just about ready to collapse again, and I leaned against the door in support.

“Need help there?” a familiar voice asked, and I turned to see none other than Luz looking concerned.

Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded my head and she flashed me a smile, holding the door open.

“Not feeling good?” she asked, sounding serious.

“More like I couldn’t sleep.” My stomach was already rumbling with anxiety, and I tried to take some deep breaths to calm down.

“Well then I think I’ll ask you what I wanted to tomorrow when you're in a better headspace. Here.” She held out her arm for me to hold onto.

I looked between her arm and her eyes a few times before reluctantly taking it, feeling my bodyweight shift to rely on her. Everywhere where her body touched mine felt like it was on fire, and I hated every second of it. I wanted to make this feeling just disappear, but when I looked up and her eyes were glittering with concern, I felt my whole stomach do a flip. I was really in trouble now.

“What seems to be the issue with her?” the main nurse asked Luz.

Luz looked down at me with a playful expression, “Long night or something.” She said, and I rolled my eyes to the best of my ability.

“You're making it sound dirty.” I scolded, “But no, I'm just really tired. I'm the stage manager for the show and I still have a ton of work, so I guess I lost track of time and forgot to sleep. My bio teacher sent me to lay down.”

The nurse gave me a sympathetic look, “That’s alright sweetie, I've been there too. How about your girlfriend can help you over to the cot over there and you can take a quick nap? I can wake you after lunch if that sounds alright?”

“Oh we’re not—” I began to say, but sighed, giving in as Luz dragged me over to the cot without another word. The nurse didn’t even seem to notice, and I collapsed onto the cot exhaustedly.

“Amity, you got to take better care of yourself.” Luz said, and suddenly I felt a spurt of boldness.

“Since when do you care about me?” I asked, and Luz pulled away as if she had been hit.

“I—what do you mean, I always have.” She replied, voice now quieter.

“Oh come on! For almost our entire high school career you hated me, and now all the sudden you care? Am I reading the room wrong or something?” I was sure I was going to regret this outburst later, but the lack of sleep was forcing it out, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Um, well, I…” she looked lost for words, “I just didn’t want to fight anymore. I just think you're cool and all and I wanted to be friends?” she sounded more nervous than me.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well then is that what you were going to ask me later? To be your friend?”

She looked as if she was going to disagree or say something else, but she just sighed.

“Kinda. Not really, but also yes. I mean I definitely want to be your friend if you’d let me.” She was picking at her nails, not meeting my eyes.

“Luz, of course we can be friends.” I said, reaching out to hold one of her hands. If I had been in any other state, doing this would have made my whole-body overload, but instead I just tried to focus on her face.

She blushed fiercely, and I bit my bottom lip.

“Uh,” she looked away, “I would love that Amity.” She finally whispered, and I felt my eyelids droop.

“Well then stop being so nervous idiot.” I said, closing my eyes but not letting go of her hand.

“I don't think you understand just how hard that is for me.” She whispered, but I barely heard her, finally feeling calm enough to go to sleep.


	6. Thursday: coffee date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Deep in thought?” a voice interrupted, and I snapped my head up to Luz. Suddenly the anxiety that I had been ignoring, returned, and my eyes went wide. Except it didn’t look like I was the only anxious one today because she was hunched a little low, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket like she was worried I was going to bite or something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I JUST READ SOMEWHERE THAT AMITY IS CONFIRMED TO BE A LESBIAN AND LIKE ✨THE REPRESENTATION✨   
> I’m really hyped if you can’t tell🙈

Wednesday 10:28 p.m.

Luz 🤢🤮😈

**Me: hey thanks for helping me at the nurse today**

**Luz: oh, it was nothing**

**Me: but you didn’t need to, so thanks**

**Me: also i’m sorry if i said something stupid, i was very sleep deprived and wasn’t thinking…**

**Luz: do you remember anything**

**Me: just that you said we could be friends**

**Luz: you said that**

**Me: wait, do you not want to be friends?**

**Luz: no, no, not that!**

**Me: wait you were going to ask me something, but i was tired**

**Luz: i’ll ask you at school tomorrow**

**Me: how about you meet me at Starbucks, and we can walk over together, you can ask me then**

**Luz: wait really?**

**Me: I mean yeah**

**Luz: how about 7:45 at Starbucks**

**Me: can't wait**

**Luz: same!!**

**…………………**

I woke up a few minutes before my alarm, feeling anxious. Maybe I would forever be in this state of anxiety about Luz, but I hoped not. It was terrible waking up with butterflies in your stomach just because of a coffee date with a girl. Not date. Coffee…thing.

When I finally got out of bed, I went right to my closet. Maybe it was Luz, or maybe today just felt special, but I pulled out a black skirt and cardigan I was going to wait to wear for the final performance. Today was Thursday, the last dress rehearsal. It was going to go perfectly, and I was going to dress to match.

Since the twins tended not to wake up until the very last minute, I had to walk. It wasn’t long, but I still resented them for not wanting them to drive me. Except no one, not even me, was going to get in the way of the twins when they wanted to sleep in in the mornings.

Rushing to the bathroom, I brushed my teeth and carefully applied the smallest little bit of makeup. I wanted to convince myself that it totally wasn’t Luz who was making me do this, but I just wanted to. I didn’t believe it, so I just gave up on caring and grabbed my things from next to my door. Then, before my mother could wake up and question why I was leaving the house so early, I slipped out the front door and began my walk to the coffee shop.

It took me a little under fifteen minutes to get to the Starbucks and when I got there, there were still about 15 minutes till Luz said she would meet me. I decided not to go inside and grab a coffee yet, but sit on the bench outside of the store and go over the notes I had written last night.

So far, the only thing the crew was having a lot of trouble with was making the transitions with set pieces a little bit quicker and quieter, which I knew wasn’t a big issue, but I still was searching for ways to hurry the process along. I considered using a few actors to help with some of the bigger ones, but that would require teaching them how to do those things on the last night before the show, and I didn’t want to do that to anyone. They were already under so much stress.

“Deep in thought?” a voice interrupted, and I snapped my head up to Luz. Suddenly the anxiety that I had been ignoring, returned, and my eyes went wide. Except it didn’t look like I was the only anxious one today because she was hunched a little low, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket like she was worried I was going to bite or something.

“Something like that.” I replied with a smile, putting my notes away and patting the seat next to me. “Morning.”

She took her seat and immediately plopped her head on my shoulder like it were some natural thing. I fought the urge to freeze up and took a deep breath. My heart had begun to beat faster again, and I considered just getting rid of the thing. All it did nowadays was beat faster when I was near Luz, and I wasn’t caring for it.

“Morning.” Luz grumbled, and I chuckled lightly.

“Not a morning person?” I asked.

“I'm just not a person.” She replied, rolling her head so she was talking into my shoulder. “I need coffee.”

My immediate reflex was to take my free hand and start messing with her hair. It was really soft in my fingertips, and she melted into the touch. For a moment I thought about how a year ago if this were to have happened, I would probably be feeling gross and a little angry, but now, a year later, I wanted the moment to never end. I was in love with this feeling.

Oh shit. I had a crush on Luz.

“Let’s get coffee.” Luz finally said, pulling her head from my shoulder while I was stuck in place having an entire internal freak out.

“Alright.” I said, but on the inside, I was frozen in horror. Was I always in love with Luz? Were all the years we fought just me suppressing my feelings? Wait…

She stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me inside the shop. I was too caught up in my own thoughts to register her hand still holding onto mine in line that when I did, I had a whole other freak out. What about the girl she liked? Why was she doing this to me? I wanted to scream.

“Um hello, hi, how’s your day? Yeah, I’ll have a mocha Carmel macchiato with three shots of expresso and like one shot of simple syrup…you know what, three shots simple syrup. And can I have that in a venti but put the same amount of coffee as you would in a Grande.” Luz said to the person at the register whose name tag said Belos. “What do you want?” she asked, turning to me and for a moment I couldn’t think because her face was so close to mine.

“Um…” I said, then snapped myself out of it, “I’ll have a coffee. Black.”

She gave me a horrified look, “Just a black coffee?”

“Yes.”

“I can't believe you.” She grumbled and then turned back to the barista who looked dead inside.

“Is that all?” he asked.

Luz gave him a long look, “Yeah.”

“That’ll be $9.78.”

She slid him her gift card like it was some sort of illegal payment, and he rolled his eyes. Luz only gave him a tired smile and returned the card to her purse, still holding me by the hand and dragging the two of us to wait for our drinks.

We found ourselves sitting against a windowsill, her still looking like a zombie, but less so now that she had ordered the coffee.

“So then, long night?” I asked her with a wink. It was the first time I think I had openly ‘flirted’ with her, and I blushed.

She perked up and looked up at me with a newly found smile. “You make it sound dirty.” She licked her bottom lip, “But something like that, yeah.”

“Anxious?”

“For the show?”

“I mean yeah, what else is there to be anxious about?” I asked and she looked at me like I was an idiot.

“Amity, ugh, are you really going to play coy right now?” she asked, and I pulled my head back in confusion.

“What do you—”

“Order for Luz!” a voice interrupted, and Luz looked so defeated. Like it was comical how similar to a wet cat she looked in that moment, and she dragged both of us up to grab out drinks.

When we had both settled back down, she didn’t even drink hers, looking back up at me with the same annoyed and exhausted expression.

“Amity I can't tell if you're messing with me, or if you're really this dumb.” She said.

“I—what are we talking about!?” I asked, and she sighed hitting her head back onto the window.

“Alright, lets do this a different way. So there’s this girl I like.”

I felt my heart sink. I knew this was too good to be true, she was anxious about a girl, and I was the best person to ask about the issue.

“And she's really, really stupid. Like, no, she's one of the smartest girls I know, but for whatever reason she isn’t getting any of the clues that I like her, and I don't know what to do.” She was looking at me like I was supposed to know who it was, but I was still lost.

“Wait so who is it? Is it Willow? I mean I see you two all the—”

“Amity!” she yelled, and the entire shop quieted and turned to the two of us. She immediately went red and spoke in a hushed tone. “Amity I swear to god, you're an idiot.”

“Well I’m sorry if I don't know everything alright! I don't get why you're expecting me to know who you're talking about! If you like someone then why are you bringing me out to…ohh.” The realization struck me, and I felt like laughing, I was so stupid. “I—I'm the girl aren’t I? You're talking about me?”

“Yes! Yes Amity, you're the girl I'm talking about!!” she looked thoroughly exhausted and took a big sip of her coffee. “I've been dropping hints steadily for like the past year, but you're just oblivious!”

I wanted to hit myself for being so stupid, but I refrained from doing so in front of her. “I thought you were messing with me!” I defended.

“Well,” she sputtered for something else to say, “I wasn’t, okay?”

“Okay.” Suddenly all of my anxieties dissipated, and I broke out into a grin. “Luz you have a crush on me.” I said, scrunching up my nose.

She rolled her eyes but started smiling too. “Yeah, yeah Amity I do.”

Suddenly my eyes went wide and I realized the conversation I had overheard earlier.

“Wait you invited me to the party last year and I didn’t show!” I exclaimed, and she legitimately face palmed.

“Yes Amity, I did.”

“I also thought that was a joke.” I admitted, and she started laughing.

“Well then this time can I ask you without you thinking it's a joke?”

“I give you permission.”

She rolled her eyes, “Well then Amity Blight, will you do the honor of attending the glamourous opening night cast party at the Denny’s?”

I flashed her a smile, “I would love nothing more.”

“You're really an idiot.” She said.

“Yeah, yeah I think I really am.”


	7. Opening night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing could have prepared me for Luz showing up to school in a suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited this entire chapter to the Lego Ninjago theme song.

Opening night:

Nothing could have prepared me for Luz showing up to school in a suit.

I knew that every year, without fail, the final day of spirit week was fancy dress, but it had slipped my mind. So that meant that when I did get to school and saw Luz standing obliviously by my locker in the best fitted suit I had ever seen, I almost passed out.

Well, passed out it is pushing it, but I did freeze in my spot and I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing. It felt all to cliché, the whole seeing your crush at school with something cute on, slow motion pan to them with hearts around their head while they give you a cute smile and you melt further. I swear to god the moment could have been found in a movie or something, but no, I was just standing next to my locker with the rest of the student population muddling around the hallways while I stared noticeably at the girl in the suit.

Today was going to go swimmingly, I could just tell.

Last night’s rehearsal was actually one of the best runs we had done so far, and I was starting to become more and more excited for the show. It also didn’t help that during rehearsal, whenever I looked over, Luz was always staring right back at me, the same puppy dog expression on her face that I had once had.

I tried not thinking about it. That didn’t last long. I tried thinking about it. That ended up making me anxious. For a while I decided to just ignore the whole feelings thing for now, I had a show to run anyway, and that when it was all over, she probably would have moved on already. I didn’t want to believe it could be true at all. Luz couldn’t really like me, like this all had to be some twisted joke.

“Hey Amity.” Luz said, sliding next to me.

For a moment I didn’t allow myself to look up from my locker in fear of not being able to stop staring once I did, but when I did finally get the courage, my mouth went dry. There was Luz, dressed formally like she was about to attend a wedding, leaning all coolly against the locker next to mine.

“Hi…hi Luz.” I breathed out, checking her out in a way she definitely noticed.

“What are ya doing?” she asked, looking quickly up and down, her mouth turning into a sly smile that I couldn’t help but blush at.

“Well I was trying to get my things but you're…distracting me.” I turned back to my locker and began exchanging books from my bag.

“I'm distracting?” she asked in a voice which made me sure she knew the answer to her own question.

“When are you not.” I whispered, then, realizing I spoke out loud, became bright red like a tomato and looked up at Luz in horror. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

Instead of still looking cool, Luz was now blushing brighter than me, and I watched as she lost her footing and almost fell against the locker. Had she really been that effected by my harmless flirting? Could I do something with this?

“Uh,” she coughed, “Thanks.” Her flirtatious demeanor had disappeared, and suddenly I felt a little bit bolder.

“Well I was just going to say that you look really hot in that suit. Leaves nothing to the imagination.” Her eyes widened, “But I don't know, I am coming up with some daydreams.”

“Daydreams?” she asked, and I looked around the hallway at the dwindling number of students. Homeroom started in just a minute, and if I stayed and talked, I would be late. Did I care though?

I caught her eye, tilting my chin upwards to face her head on, slamming my locker shut with my hand. “Oh you know, just an idea or two involving slamming you against these lockers,” I was staring right into her eyes, “and pulling that jacket off of you.”

Wow. I didn’t know that flirting back was as satisfying as that because the expression Luz gave me was priceless. She was red up to the ears, hanging forward onto every word, and I gave her a small, innocent smile.

The bell sounded. “Well then I guess I will see you for the show later.” I said, pulling my bag off of the floor and onto my shoulders.

“I’ll see…” she trailed off as I gave her one last glance and started walking towards my first class.

Suddenly I wasn’t going to be the only one left useless and blushing.

…………………………….

“Oh my god has anyone seen my wig!?” Selena yelled, rushing out of the girls dressing room in her dress.

“In the bathroom!” someone yelled, and she tore off in the other direction.

All around me was the hustle and bustle of opening night. The air always felt electric right before a show, but opening night was different.

My favorite show was always opening night because everyone had so much energy and excitement for the shows that the whole backstage was drowning in it. By the second show, everyone basically had things down, and the last show was bittersweet, but the first show was always the most entertaining.

I was sitting backstage with all of tech crew. We had all arrived a few hours before and were all done with our rounds until the show was about to begin. It was techie tradition to play a game of mafia before any show, and it was always a good way to calm down and get some nerves out.

“…And Amity, while all of this was going on, you woke up and found the milk! Amity has been gifted the milk!”

The circle filled with outraged yells of the other tech crew members who had requested the milk, an honor to get in the game of mafia, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I have the milk! You will all bow before me!” I yelled into the circle of arguments and fell into another burst of giggles when everyone turned and started yelling at me.

“Alright tech crew!” King’s voice boomed, momentarily silencing the yelling, “We have about 15 minutes till the show starts which means, Amity?” he turned to me and I sighed deeply, knowing the moment was over.

“15 to places!” I yelled, and everyone whooped. That was also tradition, one final whoop before the show got serious.

King gave me a proud look and I grinned. All the work had finally paid off, it was finally opening night, and soon this whole mess would be over.

I went around the rest of the backstage calling 15, then made my way out and into the house. The auditorium was packed. Opening night was always sold out, and I had to weave in and out from between people to finally make it back to the booth where I collapsed onto my swivel chair.

“Hey?” someone asked, and I spun in my chair to see King leaning against the booth.

“Hey.” I replied, gesturing for him to take a seat next to me.

“Nervous?”

I took a deep breath and looked around at the crazy amounts of people around me, all waiting to see a show that I was a key member in putting on. It was absolutely insane, and for a moment, unbelievable.

“I don't think I've ever felt this much anxiety.” I answered truthfully, looking back over. “What if I fail?”

King smiled, “You won’t. I've seen you these past three years, you work your ass off in any job you do. You're a much better stage manager than I was at your age, and it's going to go amazingly.”

I felt a pinch in the corners of my eyes and couldn’t reply, trying to hold back tears.

“And Amity?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m keeping next year’s slot open for you if you want it. I mean it when I say that you have a knack for this, and if you wanted to, I bet you could make a living out of it.” He gave me one last proud smile.

“Lets just get through this one first.” I replied, smiling back at him, “But thank you, I’ll really consider it.”

He got up from his seat, “10 to places.”

“10 to places.”

“Thank you 10. Break a leg.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, my friend Shannon is going through a tough time, and it would mean a lot if you gave her some encouragement!! I promise it would make her day!! 🥺🥺


	8. Dinner at Denny’s

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I could tell that she caught onto my train of thought, cuz now she was staring at my lips. My eyes went wide and I pulled back, trying to keep my face neutral. Luckily, Gus and Willow were caught up in their own conversation and didn’t really pay much attention to what we were doing. When I looked back over at Luz, she was bright red and looking at a menu like it was the most important thing in the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shannon says: “THANK YOU ALL!!”   
> She’s doing much better and we went to party city, bought wigs, and wore them all around the mall. Highly recommend!!! Anyway here’s what you’ve all been waiting for🙈

Denny’s:

The show went perfectly. Sure, that didn’t mean that every line was said without a hitch, and that we didn’t have a few minor problems during the show, but in my books any show where the whole light board doesn’t get deleted and someone gets a concussion from a flying shoe is a perfect show. Yes, both of those things have happened before.

Most of the time during the show when I didn’t have much to do during a scene, I would be looking at Luz. She was blowing everyone away, seriously, and I'm not just saying that because I had a crush on her, no, everyone was loving her. Every time she walked that stage, the whole audience was captivated. She was obnoxiously good at her role.

My favorite part of the show was when she walked right up to the front of the stage and looked out into the audience while preforming one of her last songs. Her eyes scoured the entire house before landing on me in the way back, and I watched as her lips curved slightly upwards. It would be a lie to say my heart didn’t skip a beat right then.

When the final curtain fell and the audience flew into an uproar of clapping, I collapsed into my chair in relief. My first show, completed, it felt like a whole ass weight was lifted from my shoulders.

“Nice job everybody!” King exclaimed, sliding his way into the booth with a bouquet of red roses. It was tradition on the first night for him to bring flowers in and distribute them to all of the crew members because often they never got flowers from the show like the actors, and he wanted to make sure we felt appreciated too.

“Thanks King.” I said as he handed me a rose, “It went surprisingly well!”

He handed out flowers to Kiki and Viney and turned back to me. “I wasn’t surprised. I knew that you had this in you, and now my suspicions were correct. You're an amazing stage manager.”

I broke out into a grin. “I'm going to head backstage and thank everyone.” I said to him and he gave me a smile.

“See you tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. call time.” He said, and I nodded, jumping out of my chair with my rose and a bright look on my face.

It took me a minute to get through the throngs of people standing by the stage door, waiting for the actors to emerge, but eventually I made it back and started to congratulate everyone.

“Amity!” a familiar voice yelled, and I spun around to meet Luz in her suit, obnoxious stage makeup still painted all over her face. “Amazing show!”

I rushed forward and pulled her into a hug. She seemed surprised at first, but soon melted into my arms.

“I don't know if I am the first, but I wanted to say you were absolutely amazing up there.” I said into her shoulder.

She pulled away so that she could see my face. “You were, and thanks, did you really think so?” she looked self-conscious and I wasn’t going to have any of that.

“Luz you commanded the stage. The whole audience was on their toes whenever you were out there! I mean it.” She blushed lightly, biting her bottom lips to stop her coming grin.

“I'm blushing!” she complained, pushing me away and trying to hide her face in her hands.

“Cutie.” I teased.

“Ew, are they flirting?” a voice said from behind us and I turned to see Emira and Edric looking at us with their arms crossed. They had both also done really well in the show, but I didn’t care about telling them that since they had never really complimented me on my tech things.

“Oh just go to your stupid senior class party.” I said, and Edric laughed.

“Alright little miss stage manager, we’ll be off.” He winked at Luz and then Emira and him started to the cast door.

“And Amity?” Emira asked, turning around for one brief moment.

“Yeah?”

“Good show.” Then she turned around and left before I could return the compliment.

For a moment I stood in shock before remembering I had an audience, and turned back to Luz.

“Sorry about them.” I grumbled, still a little confused about Emira. “They’re obnoxious.”

“Eh, don't worry about it!” she said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. My fingers laced in-between hers and I smiled. “Want to get out of here?”

“Hm, I think it's overdue.” I replied and she grinned.

“That was your fault!” she complained, puling me out the cast door.

“Don't turn this on me!” I exclaimed, “Come on idiot, the Denny’s awaits.”

She rolled her eyes, and we were on our way.

…………………………………

I had been to one cast party before. It was when I was 12, and for a production of Shrek the musical the twins were in. I had been dragged along and left about 15 minutes in because I was so overwhelmed. This one was probably not going to be different.

The first thing I noticed when I got there were the wait staff. They were all standing around and looking at the good 30 of us who were filtering out of various cars outside the shop, all looking outrageous in heavy makeup and singing showtunes. I cringed, hoping that they wouldn’t totally hate us, but catching one woman’s eye, I knew they already did.

I had driven in the car with Luz, Willow, and Gus. They were all laughing and singing loudly to random music that was blasting out of the car’s speakers while Luz drove in and out of traffic like a madwoman. I was legitimately afraid for my life for most of the car ride, hugging onto the seat in front of me in hopes of grounding myself. Luz didn’t even seem to notice, adorably oblivious to the fact she was a public safety hazard.

“Hey, sit next to me.” Luz yelled over some freshmen singing a song from Le Mis.

She patted a seat next to her in a booth made for four people. I slid in, and she followed, our hands still clasped together under the table.

“Hi Willow, Gus.” I said to both of the other actors respectively. They were both giving Luz and I puppy dog looks.

“You two are adorable.” Gus said, taking a giant sip of water from his glass, his smile making it so that a few droplets of water splattered onto the table below.

“Yeah.” Willow added, “It's funny seeing you together after all these years.”

I blushed slightly. Luz and I hadn’t really set any boundaries or talked about anything yet. Mostly we had just held hands and flirted, so I didn’t know what we were. We hadn’t even kissed yet.

“Guys.” Luz said, a blush on her face as well, “Lets just talk about something else.”

They began to talk amongst themselves, and my attention drifted. There were various different tables filled with theater kids, and I spotted Boscha sitting with a big group of upperclassmen. All I hoped was that I wouldn’t have to deal with any drama or shit tonight.

“What bout you Amity? How did you get into theatre?” Willow asked, and I snapped my attention back to the group.

“Um…sorry wait I need to collect my thoughts.” Willow gave me a smile and I raced to remember how I had gotten into theatre and if it was a good story. “Okay, I got it. So my siblings have always been in theatre and like, being on stage wasn’t really my thing, but I still really liked the idea of it you know? So when I got to high school, I found about tech crew and joined. It was all the theatre stuff minus the preforming, and I've been invested ever since.”

“That’s amazing! I have always kind of wanted to tech a show. Maybe next year I will!” she said.

“That would be amazing! Yeah, I love it so much.” I said with a smile, and I felt Luz give my hand a little squeeze. I looked over and she was giving me a smile.

“That’s really cool.”

We were like two inches apart and every part of my soul wanted to just lean in and kiss her, but I couldn’t do that in the Denny’s. That would be horrible.

I could tell that she caught onto my train of thought, cuz now she was staring at my lips. My eyes went wide and I pulled back, trying to keep my face neutral. Luckily, Gus and Willow were caught up in their own conversation and didn’t really pay much attention to what we were doing. When I looked back over at Luz, she was bright red and looking at a menu like it was the most important thing in the world.

When she caught me staring at her, she went even more red and pulled the menu back towards her face. It was really cute, and I wanted to tell her that. But I didn’t think that would be the best idea right in this moment.

The rest of the night rushed by quickly. Besides Luz and I occasionally getting flustered and wanting to kiss each other, most of the time we spent singing showtunes, eating horrible breakfast food, and overall just joking off. I was starting to feel so comfortable, and as the night went on, and my exhaustion grew, my ability to resist Luz was starting to falter. If not for that stupid suit.

Finally I had my moment. Gus and Willow had left to go talk to other people and suddenly Luz and I were alone, sitting very close in the booth.

“Hey.” I said, leaning in closer so that she could do nothing but stare at me. “How’s it going?”

Her eyes went wide and she looked right down to my lips again. Not going to lie, it was extremely hot.

“Hi.” She replied, her voice a few pitches higher than it normally was.

“You're really cute.” I said, and she smiled.

“Yeah?”

“Very. So cute that if I don't get to kiss you in the next few minutes, I think I might just lose it and do it in front of everyone.”

That got her attention.

I watched as she gulped. No doubt her mouth had gone dry, and the way she was looking at me, god, I wanted to capture it forever because it was so perfect.

“Oh really?” she asked. For someone who talks mad game, she was really bad at it being turned back on her.

“I'm very serious.” I replied, then, feeling bold, released my hand from hers and set it on her inner thigh, all while keeping eye contact.

Her entire body froze, and she licked her lips, staring at me with a mix of wanting and annoyance.

“You're playing dirty.” She said, inhaling sharply when I slid my hand up just a little bit higher. “Very unfair Amity.”

I smiled innocently, “What ever do you mean?” I asked, tracing circles on her leg.

She shut her eyes for a moment and sighed. “You know what—”

“Hey guys!” Gus interrupted, sliding back into his seat. “What did we miss.”

Luz’s attention snapped back to her friends who had entered the booth, but I didn’t even care, still keeping my hand right where it was.

“H—hi!” Luz stuttered, flashing me an annoyed look, “We were just t—talking.”

I couldn’t believe that after years of her talking constantly, it only took my hand on her leg to make her shut up. I mean she was literally stuttering.

Willow flashed her a concerned look and I feigned innocence.

“What were you two doing?” I asked, sliding my hand up just a little bit higher.

Luz went rigid again, and I couldn’t help but bite my lip to stop me from laughing.

“Oh just talking with some of the other cast members about the show tomorrow.” Gus said, looking as if he didn’t notice anything that was going on.

“That’s…cool.” Luz said slowly, trying to remain neutral. “Um, I need a word with Amity.” She grabbed my hand and pulled the both of us to a stand. “Outside.” The last word was said a little forcefully, and my eyebrows shot up.

Well there goes being inconspicuous.

“Alright?” Willow said, giving Gus a look.

“Cool.” Luz said uninterestedly and dragged me out the door and to the side of the restaurant where no one could see us.

As soon as we were out of view she let go of my hand and buried her face in her hands.

“You okay?” I asked innocently, and she looked up at me like she was going to strangle me.

“You're—you're horrible oh my god!” she threw her hands into the air, and I pouted.

“How?”

“You know how.” She replied, taking a step closer.

I made a point of looking her up and down, my gaze finally settling on her lips.

“I don't have any idea what you're talking about.” I said, still staring down.

“Amity.”

“Yeah?”

I looked up at her in just the right moment that we were millimeters apart, her nose almost knocking into mine. She inhaled sharply, and I felt my back hit the brick wall of the Denny’s.

And then she was kissing me.

I had kissed people before, guys, girls, but nothing had ever felt righter than when Luz leaned in and touched her lips to mine. We melted together, two idiot kids dancing around their feelings for so long, finally colliding and it felt like my whole body was screaming god yes! Luz’s lips were sticky with syrup from the pancakes she had been eating before, and it only made me want to kiss her harder, pull her into me, feel our hearts pounding together through our ribcages. Nothing on the planet could make me stop pressing my lips into hers.

It wasn’t an innocent kiss either, this was passionate. Her entire body pressed against mine, her hands dragging up and down my body in a way that made me shiver. My hands found their way to her waist, one roaming closer to her ass, and I breathed her in. Part of me wished we had done this years ago, but than again, teasing Luz to a breaking point at the cast party at Denny’s is something I would never forget.

We pulled away for a moment while she caught her breath, and all I could do was stare. Her hair was all a mess even though I had barely touched it, and her suit, as beautiful as it was, was a mess. She looked all disheveled and devilishly hot, and all I wanted to do was kiss her again. So I did. This time I was pressing into her, pushing her back so that I could turn the two of us around so that she was the one with her back against the wall.

When I had gotten to a comfortable position, I slotted my leg in-between hers, and went back in to kiss her again. This time my hands were all over her hair, messing it up so that when we went back inside everyone would know what had happened. I didn’t care anymore, she was mine, and I loved it.

“Whoa.” A voice interrupted, and I pulled away to see Willow and Gus standing by the door with expressions of horror splayed all over their features.

I pulled away from Luz abruptly, my face going bright red. I wanted to sink into the concrete and never be seen again.

“Hey guys.” Luz said with a small wave. She looked absolutely wrecked and her lips were all red with the lipstick I had been wearing before. “What are you doing out here?”

“We were going to look for you, but it seems that you're busy…” Gus said as the two of them started retreating back into the restaurant. “Take your time!” he called, and they shut the door, letting the two of us fall into silence.

“Well that was…something.” I said, turning my head back to Luz who had a panicked expression on.

“Um…” she replied, at a loss for words, “Do you want to go back in?”

I thought for a moment, then met her eyes again.

“A few more minutes.” I said.

She nodded her head enthusiastically. “A few more minutes.”

And our lips collided again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe thoughts? Worth the wait? It's long overdue anyway!!!


	9. Date night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (I’m not giving this one away)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay babes, this is going to be the last chapter!! Sorry, but I promise I have sooooo many ideas (like I literally have a notes document full of them) so there’s more on the way!! I have no idea what I will be doing when school decides to be an issue, but I’m not going to be gone for long!! That’s a threat 🙈

I didn’t really get to see Luz on Saturday or Sunday before the show, and I was starting to become a little anxious.

I knew for a fact that she still liked me because sometime around 2 a.m. last night she sent me a text which basically said that she couldn’t stop thinking about me, but I still really wanted to see her. It didn’t help that I still had a show to stage manage, and that she was a main character in it, so we didn’t have that much free time to talk.

But finally, following the last show, I was surprised to see her jump into the booth and into the swivel chair next to me.

King had already come and gone, giving me tons of praise and trying to convince me to do next year’s show, and I had gotten quite a few flowers and letters from various crew members, and one from the cast. I was sitting alone and reading them when she popped by.

“Whatcha doin?” Luz asked, leaning back so that her head fell into my lap, and her legs dangled off the other edge of the chair.

“Hi Luz.” I said with a laugh, setting down my letters and placing my hands in her hair. She was looking back up at me with a dramatic devastated look on her face.

“Hiii Amity, I was just thinking about how I have barely seen you in the past two days and it got me sad.”

“Oh?” I asked, pursing my lips, “Well then we should do something about that.”

Her eyes lit up. “Now? Cuz the cast party and…” she trailed off.

“Um, well I have strike so, maybe not right now right now, but what are you doing tonight? We could go out to dinner?” I asked, feeling butterflies in my stomach.

“Like a date?” she asked.

“I mean, yeah.”

She broke out into a childish smile, “Amity do you have a crush on me?” she asked, scrunching her nose up. “Cuz that’s kinda gay.”

I snorted, “Yeah Luz, did you not know? I'm a raging lesbian.”

She contorted her face into mock disgust, “Ew. I could never be friends with a gay person.”

I booped her nose, “Sure, but you’d bully them in the hallways for years because of suppressed emotions, right?”

She sat up and pushed me slightly, her mouth hanging open, “Amity! You did that too!”

“Whatever idiot, we both are guilty of being stupid and gay for each other.”

She smiled, “Yeah, I guess.” She flopped down, head falling back into my lap. “So when are you picking me up?”

“Oh thank god, I am going to drive, yes, and I’ll pick you up at 7:15?”

“Perfect,” her face was lit up, “Wait, wait, are you trying to say that I’m bad at driving?”

I traced her chin with a stray finger, “Yes babe, you're a public safety hazard.”

“What I am no—” she began, but I pressed my hand over her mouth so that her words got all muffled.

“Shhh.” I whispered.

She licked the inside of my hand and I removed it in disgust.

“I am not a safety hazard!” she exclaimed.

“Yes you are.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Ugh!!!”

……………………………………..

I picked Luz up a little after 7:15. I had never been to her house before, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it was a quaint little family home near the school.

When I pulled up to the house, Luz was already waiting on the porch, bag in hand, and a dazzling smile on her face. Before I could even get out of the car to be the gentleman and walk her from the door to the car, she had catapulted herself down the stairs and right into the passenger seat.

She quickly shut the door and shoved her bag underneath her seat. “Hi Amity!” she said in a sing-song voice and kissed my cheek.

Heat rushed to my face and I rolled my eyes, “Hi Luz, nice to see you again.”

“Actually it's nice to see **you**.” She replied, cocking her head endearingly.

“I mean can't it be nice for both of us?” I asked.

“You're pretty.” My face went even redder. “That’s what I was trying to say Amity, but I did a poor job of it apparently.”

I shifted my eyes to the road and pulled out onto the street. “No, no you did a great job, I just didn’t get the hint.” My voice was up an octave or two, and I hated how much just one phrase had gotten to me.

“Didn’t get the hint! That’s funny, kind of like you didn’t get the hint that I liked you for like a year and a half or something.” She said, wrapping one of her arms around her headrest.

“Hey! I thought we both knew I was an idiot.” I turned onto the highway.

“We did…” her attention drifted, “Wait, where are we even going?” her eyes were fixed out the window, and I couldn’t help but steal a glance.

Something about the setting sun hitting her face in just the right way made me sigh out loud. I couldn’t believe that she was so stunningly gorgeous. Luz Noceda, most beautiful girl on the planet, in my passenger seat, calling _me_ names. Who would have thought? Not me. Definitely not me.

“What?” she asked, looking over to see me staring at her.

For a moment I had forgotten that I was on the road and I tore my eyes off of her and back to the highway, swerving the car only slightly in the process.

“Nothing, just… admiring the view…” I tried to focus back on the road and not on Luz’s eyes still fixed on me.

“So then Amity,” she sighed and looked back on the road, “Where are you taking me because I would like to know if your plan is to murder me in the middle of nowhere. I would like to say my last goodbyes if that is the case.”

I chuckled, “Um, not currently my plan, but if you keep making jokes about me being oblivious, then that might change. And also, I will not be giving away any information about where we are going because then the surprise would be ruined, and I don't want that.”

She gave me a look. “Come ooooooonnnnnnnnn!” she complained, “Give me a clue at least?”

I knew if I looked over, her puppy dog eyes would have coaxed the information out of me, but I kept my eyes on the road. I wasn’t having any of this manipulation bullshit.

“Nope.”

“But,” she struggled to find a reasoning, “But I wanna know.”

“Sucks to suck.” I replied, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Fine. But I'm turning on music.” She reached over and turned on the radio. Some obnoxious pop song was playing, and she started to bop her head along to the beat.

I abandoned my sense again and looked over. She was just such an idiot, and I think I was falling in love with her. The stupid way her hair flopped up and down with her hair, her little shoulder dances, god, I was in trouble.

We kept driving for almost 15 more minutes before taking our exit. The drive out was always long, but the view was going to be worth it. Though I didn’t know if the view I was talking about was the actual view, or Luz’s face when she got there.

About a minute away from our stop, I pulled the car to the side of the road.

“So you were planning to murder me!” Luz accused, shooting me a look after I fully stopped the car.

“Yup, now here’s the part where you put on the blindfold.” I pulled out a bandana from my back pocket and held it out in front of Luz’s face. Her eyes grew wide for a moment.

“Kinky.” She said, and I rolled my eyes.

“It's not like that!” I complained, but she was shooting me one of those grins that were super fucking contagious, and soon I was smiling too. “No, serious, it's not like a sex thing Luz, it's cuz I don't want you to see the view before I let you.”

She clicked her tongue but started to tie the bandana over her eyes anyway. “I'm just saying, you could have made it a sex thing and I would have been fine with it.”

I coughed involuntarily, and her lips quirked up into a smirk.

“You're predictable.” She explained.

“Yeah, but you're the one in a blindfold, so I think we know whose really got the control in this situation.” I replied, and her cheeks went red. She was predictable too.

Once I was sure she couldn’t see anything, I pulled back onto the road, and into the parking lot on the edge of the lot. When we had parked, I went into the back and pulled out my picnic things. Then I had to collect Luz, pulling her out of the passenger’s seat while she complained about wanting to see.

We walked, very slowly since Luz was being bratty, to the edge of the view, and I dropped my things and prepared to show Luz my favorite spot on all of the Blooming Isles.

It was a place that my parents used to take the twins and I before they got serious, and school became everything to them. We used to come out on Sunday nights and watch the sunset over the whole island. Now we hadn’t gone in years, and I never brought anyone else here because it was too special for just anyone. But Luz wasn’t just anyone.

“Can I take my blindfold off?” Luz wined, and I sighed.

“You're literally insufferable.”

“But you love it.” She said with a toothy smile.

“Obviously.” I replied, then reached over and pulled the bandana off.

The look on her face was worth it.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise and she exhaled slowly, taking it all in.

The place I had brought her was to the tallest point on the island. Below you could see every part of the island, all lit up with the light of the setting sun. The vantage point was nicknamed “heaven” because of how much it looked like you were up in the clouds, looking down onto the world below, and I very much agreed with the consensus.

“Whoa.” Was all Luz said.

“Yeah.” I replied, squatting down to spread out the picnic blanket and get out the food.

“Whoa.”

All she did for about 4 minutes straight was look out at the view, and every so often, back down at me with an expression of pure bliss plastered onto her face. My heart swelled whenever she looked back at me, and after a while I decided to sit back and enjoy the view.

Luz was the view.

“How did you find this place?” she asked, finally sitting down with me on the blanket.

“My parents used to bring us.” I answered self-consciously. I didn’t really like to bring them up.

“That’s so cool! This is so cool!” she turned to me and met my eyes, “You are so cool.”

Her face hovered an inch away from mine, and I swept in and kissed her. She smiled into my mouth and pulled me closer, both of us ignoring the food and the view. All I wanted was to hold her closer, and she scooted closer so that I could. We wrapped our arms around each other, and I fell backwards with her body on mine.

Our lips parted and we both giggled, settling back down into comfortable positions. Then her lips were back on mine, sweeping me into another kiss, pressing into me, and I melted.

We kissed for a long time, way past sunset, and each second I seared into my memory forever. I never wanted this to end, and I knew that if it had to, I wanted to remember it forever. I wanted to memorize how her lips felt on mine, how she tasted like honey and mint, the shape of her nose as it bumped into mine, everything. I wanted everything.

And I guess, for the first time in my whole life, I might have just found it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HOPE YOU ALL LOVED IT!!! I had so much fun with this one, and so many ideas I didn’t use that I plan to incorporate into new ones!!!!!   
> I love you all, stay safe, eat something, drink something, and take a dance break!!! 🥰❤️😘

**Author's Note:**

> Key for theatre terms:  
> House—the place where the audience sits in the theatre  
> Stager manger (SM)—oversees tech crew  
> Technical producer—oversees all aspects of tech including the SM  
> Techies—tech crew kids
> 
> (LMK if there’s other ones you don’t know!!)


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